I pulled a muscle at Krav on Wednesday night. I’m not seriously hurt or anything – I just had a Charlie horse.

I took it easy on Thursday. On Friday, instead of going to fencing, I went to visit my mom. We took the dog for a walk Friday evening and again Saturday morning. I did some swimming on Saturday as well. It was a chill, low-impact weekend.

I came back to Pensacola on Sunday for SCA fencing practice. We ended up chilling with our friends, sharing food and stories. I’m okay with that.

Despite taking it easy this weekend, I’m pretty tired today. I’d like to push through and go to Krav, especially since I’ve made up my mind about civilian instructor certification. I intend to pursue instructorship next year, so I need to train seriously. On the other hand, I can’t get anything done if I get hurt (which is more likely when I’m fighting tired). We’ll see how I feel this afternoon.

On Sunday, my plans to get out and move around were thwarted once again by rain. However, my lazy day got exciting again when Prissy showed up and hauled Nik and I to a stretch & flexibility yoga class. It was more focused on expanding the range of motion than other yoga classes I’ve attended, and I was able to push myself further than I’ve been before. No lie – I saw more of a change in one class than I did in the year of gymnastics that I took.

Monday night was Krav night, as per usual. We did some drills inside and then got back outside and ran some scenarios outdoors. I like practicing outside, even in the dark and the heat – maybe especially in the dark and the heat – because it adds an element of realism. You don’t get to fight in a controlled environment in real life.

Tonight is my usual yoga night. I’m looking forward to going back after being off last week.

Talk about getting back in the groove! Wednesday night at Krav, we warmed up by doing a couple of songs’ worth of Zumba. The gal leading our class is very skilled and kept things hyped up. After that, class lasted about an hour. After helping some of the P1s, I got to work on sideways break falls, which involve using one leg to lower yourself down if you’re shoved from the side. My thighs were feeling that for a few days!

On Thursday Nik and I went to New Orleans to see Beck. It’s not really a workout, but we did walk around the Big Easy a lot, and I was dancing (as much as I could) during the show.

We drove back from NOLA on Friday and got back to Pensacola just in time to do a joint fencing demo with the SCA and UWF Fencing Club (plus more walking around downtown).

Yesterday it was too rainy to go to the beach, but I did want to get out and move around. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, and when I turned on my computer to do some homework, nothing happened. That machine has been on its way out for awhile now, so Nik and I headed to Best Buy to get a new one. We had a little PokeWalk at the mall right before closing and called it a day.

Today, once again, it’s too rainy to fence. I have enough homework to keep me busy, though. I’m looking forward to Krav tomorrow. I think I’m back to myself!

Last Wednesday I went to Krav and helped students in my more active teaching role. I feel completely out of my element.

On Friday I got to go to UWF fencing practice, and I actually got to DO some fencing as well as teaching.

Saturday involved some beach yoga and a walk to the pier and back. I’d say I s wam, but I mostly just floated around.

On Sunday I resumed SCA fencing practice. Introducing a new student to rapier was a welcome break from the heat. One disadvantage to training indoors is you forget how to train outdoors. I emphasize lots of breaks and lots of hydration.

Yesterday, however, I decided i needed a break. I’ve been feeling kind of down lately, and I wasn’t up to any sort of challenge. I stayed home and worked on an art project instead. Yoga is cancelled tonight, which is kind of a bummer, but I’m looking forward to actually being in my house for some time before class. Tomorrow, though, I’m getting back into the groove!

Last week was the first time in a long time that I did all my activities (and then some).

Monday: Krav Maga
Tuesday: yoga
Wednesday: Krav Maga
Thursday: rest
Friday: fencing
Saturday: beach yoga, beach walk, nature trail walk
Sunday: dancing
Monday: fencing (since the gym where I do Krav was closed)

I felt more than a little rusty during almost all of those activities at first, but it’s good to be moving again. I’m really really looking forward to yoga today because I need to stretch out all those muscles I used!

I skipped Krav on Wednesday night so that I could prepare for my weekend trip. I finished all the sewing, preparing, planning, and other things I needed to do.

This year at Tourney of the Foxes, I didn’t gear up at all – not even for pickups. I spent the event making sure that Nik had the elevation of his dreams, and it was worth it. I’m so proud of him, and he deserves the best.

Now that that’s over, however, I’m more than happy to get back into my routine. I’ll be at Krav tonight.

Monday at Krav Maga, a fellow came and interviewed some of the ladies for a project he’s doing with his young daughter. They make videos reviewing and exploring women’s fitness in the area. I’m excited to see my school getting some publicity.

Unfortunately I pulled something in my leg and scared myself. My knee really hurt, but I think it’s structurally fine. It holds weight and moves the correct way and all that jazz. I sat out for the rest of the class (so about half) and did some couch coaching.

Yesterday I went to my first yoga class of the semester. The knee seemed to like yoga with the exception of child’s pose. I’m thinking I’ll rest up again today partially to make sure the knee is fine and partially because I have a super busy weekend ahead of me with Nik’s elevation. I don’t know if I’ll get the chance to fence or not, but I really hope I get at least a little blade time in.

On Saturday morning I did a 5K. I say “did” instead of “ran” because we walked more of it than we ran. Gaby and I called it interval training.

I spent my weekend sewing like a mad woman. Nik’s elevation garb is ready (minus buttons). My garb for his elevation is almost ready – I need to sew on one more piece and do my buttons as well.

We’re gonna make it. Holy cow, we’re gonna make it.

Last night I went to Krav. I missed one class, but it felt like I’d been out for weeks.

Last night we did lots of kicking. First we went over some P2 kicks with students learning that material. I like getting to go over things I’ve already learned with the new class because I can show them how to avoid mistakes I’ve made, and it improves my ability to do the skill.

After that, Kita caught me up on some things that I missed after Eddie showed us how to block forward kicks (P3 techniques).

On Sunday night, I finally went to an aerial yoga class. I absolutely loved it. We used aerial cloud (the silk is in a U shape), which I found much more accessible than straight up and down silks. I really liked the way that suspension took pressure off my spine… plus we learned some neat tricks. I’d like to practice aerial cloud again – maybe montly – but it all depends on how busy I am with school this semester.